Facile Preparation of CNT/Ag<sub>2</sub>S Nanocomposites with Improved Visible and NIR Light Photocatalytic Degradation Activity and Their Catalytic Mechanism

oleh: Lijing Di, Tao Xian, Xiaofeng Sun, Hongqin Li, Yongjie Zhou, Jun Ma, Hua Yang

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2019-07-01

Deskripsi

In this work, a series of carbon nanotubes (CNT)/Ag<sub>2</sub>S hybrid nanocomposites were successfully prepared by a facile precipitation method. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation indicates that Ag<sub>2</sub>S nanoparticles with an average particle size of ~25 nm are uniformly anchored on the surface of CNT. The photocatalytic activities of the CNT/Ag<sub>2</sub>S nanocomposites were investigated toward the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible and near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation. It is shown that the nanocomposites exhibit obviously enhanced visible and NIR light photocatalytic activities compared with bare Ag<sub>2</sub>S nanoparticles. Moreover, the recycling photocatalytic experiment demonstrates that the CNT/Ag<sub>2</sub>S nanocomposites possess excellent photocatalytic stability. The photoelectrochemical and photoluminescence measurements reveal the efficient separation of photogenerated charges in the CNT/Ag<sub>2</sub>S nanocomposites. This is the dominant reason behind the improvement of the photocatalytic activity. Based on active species trapping experiments, the possible photocatalytic mechanism of CNT/Ag<sub>2</sub>S nanocomposites for dye degradation under visible and NIR light irradiation was proposed.